Eye of the Beholder
by SmokeyTV
Summary: All is not as it seems as Nick investigates a tragic car accident. "No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly." - Oscar Wilde


**This story was written for the Nick Fic Song Challenge on Talk CSI...limit of 2,000 words (tho I've expanded it a bit here), based in some part on the song, _Karma Police_, by Radiohead. Thanks to everyone who participated in the challenge! **

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The blood was everywhere…on his shirt, his arms, and his gloves. He could replace his gloves and wash his arms, but he had to call Riley to bring him a clean shirt from his locker back at the lab. Now he stood waiting on the side of the road, out of the way, unable to finish processing the scene until his clean shirt arrived.

"Hey, Nick!"

He looked up to see Jim Brass approaching. The captain squinted in the early morning sunlight. "How much longer do you figure?"

Nick sighed and looked around. "Not too much longer once Riley gets here," he said. "I've got most of the pictures done, and we'll process the cars back at the garage. I just need to collect a few more things from the ground."

"Got it," Brass replied. He studied the dark haired criminalist as Nick stared down the road watching for Riley. "You okay?" Brass asked.

"Huh?" Nick turned to face him. "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah…she was just…I don't know." He paused before asking, "You think the kid is going to make it?" He didn't wait for an answer as Jim looked at him. "Yeah…" Nick nodded. "I know." He turned his gaze back down the road.

* * *

Earlier, in the wee hours of the morning, Nick had been sitting in the break room at work, talking with Catherine and hoping to get through the evening without another case. She chastised him for mentioning it and cursing their luck, and it turned out she was right. The call came in at 6:38, just before their shift ended. It was a two vehicle accident out on Blue Diamond Road southwest of town. Nick told Catherine that since it was "his fault" they got the call, he would take it so she could go on home. She laughed and did not put up an argument, wishing him luck on her way out the door.

Emergency vehicles surrounded the scene as Nick pulled up in his SUV. Brass briefed him on what he knew so far. The Mustang had been heading west and crossed the center line to collide with the Escort. Brass looked at his notepad and continued, "Lady in the Mustang…Sandi Isom…says a cat or something ran out in front of her…swerved to avoid it…hit the Escort. She's gonna be all right, but her face is pretty banged up…got a broken arm too. Lady in the Escort…Sharon Prince...she's okay, but I didn't get much out of her. She's pretty hysterical over the kid…Kayla…3 years old...gash on her neck is bleeding pretty badly." He sighed. "Everything seems cut and dry to me, but take a look."

Nick nodded and got started taking pictures of the cars first so that they could be towed back to the lab's garage. He tried to block out the sounds of the paramedics as they attempted to calm Mrs. Prince down enough to answer their questions about her daughter's medical history. But she was not about to let go of the child and let them take her away. Nick looked over just in time to see her spring at Officer Mitchell as he tried to block her access to the ambulance that Kayla was being loaded into.

"Let me go! I need to go with her!" she screamed as she struggled with the officer.

"Ma'am! MA'AM! They need to take her NOW!" Officer Mitchell shouted at her as the ambulance began to pull away.

"No!" she cried. "Kayla!" She fought harder with the officer.

"Ma'am, listen to me!" Mitchell tried to reason with her. "They need to get her there as fast as possible. You can go with me…I'll take you right now!"

Sensing the situation escalating, Nick approached them slowly, prepared to offer assistance if Mitchell needed it. Suddenly, the distraught woman gave the officer a powerful shove, knocking him backward and causing him to trip and fall to the ground. Sharon began running down the road after the ambulance.

"Ma'am! Mrs. Prince!" Nick shouted as he ran after her. She did not respond to his calls and kept running, but he quickly caught up with her. He grabbed her by the arm and she came to a halt as he moved in front of her.

Nick held both of her arms now, trying to get her attention, but she was looking past him, her eyes following the ambulance until it was out of her sight. She began to cry hysterically, choking out her words. "She's gone!" She fought to see around Nick, desperately looking for any sign of the vehicle carrying her daughter, and when she realized it was gone she began to collapse, sobbing and crying out her daughter's name.

Nick held onto the woman, keeping her from sinking to the ground, and tried to look her in the eyes as he spoke firmly to her. "Mrs. Prince…listen…we're going to get you to your daughter. You need to calm down so you can be there for her."

Sharon's sobs quieted some, the words finally reaching through her hysteria. She looked tearfully at Nick, then clutched him in a frantic embrace. "Please…she's all I have!"

Nick held her as he looked over her shoulder and called to the officer. "Mitch…she's ready to go now." He then broke the embrace and looked in the mother's eyes again as he spoke softly. "Mrs. Prince, Officer Mitchell is going to take you to your daughter, now. Okay?" She looked at him and nodded, and he smiled and nodded back. "He'll take good care of you. It's going to be okay."

Nick watched as Officer Mitchell put his hand on Sharon's shoulder and walked her to his car. He let out a heavy sigh, then looked down at his arms and clothing, now stained red with the child's blood. He shook his head and pulled out his cell phone.

After finishing up at the scene, Nick headed to the hospital, meeting Jim Brass on his way out. "Hey, Jim!" he greeted the captain. "How are they doing?"

"They're still working on the kid. Mom's calmed down a bit since her husband got here. The other lady…" He looked at his note pad. "…Isom…she's getting her face stitched up and will probably be released tomorrow. How's everything look?"

Nick shrugged. "Okay so far. I'll examine the cars after I leave here…see if there's anything unusual. I'll let you know."

Nick approached the information desk and let the receptionist know why he was there. She directed him down the hall to the nurses' station where a young woman in blue scrubs handed him a package.

"Here are the pictures we took of the patients' injuries. Blood alcohol tests came back negative for both drivers," she said. "Oh…there's something else. Dr. Phillips wants to talk to you about it though. I'll let him know you're here."

Nick took a seat in the hallway to wait for the doctor. After a few moments, Dr. Phillips arrived with a small vial that he handed to Nick.

"We pulled this out of Ms. Isom's left eye." He held up the vial which contained a small, black, round object. "It was embedded about two inches in. By the way," he finished as he walked away, "she's going to lose that eye."

* * *

Back at the lab, Nick dropped off the vial with Hodges and then headed to the garage to take a look at the cars. As he pulled on his coveralls and picked up his flashlight, he heard a familiar voice.

"I go away for a week and now you're changing shifts on me?" Warrick laughed. "What are you doing here at this time of the morning?"

Nick laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "What am _I _doing here? What about you? I thought you weren't due back until tomorrow."

"Uh…Nick? It _is_ tomorrow, man." Warrick laughed again. "I needed to get my time sheet in, then I'm heading home to catch a few z's before shift tonight."

"Oh yeah…" Nick shook his head. "Man…these doubles mess with your head."

"What have you got here?" Warrick asked.

"Accident this morning. Mustang lady swerved to avoid an animal and hit the Escort."

"Yeah?" Warrick asked as he looked up and down the side of the Escort. "How come the paint transfer and damage is all along the side then? If she swerved, there would be one big impact. This looks like she veered over into the other car, kind of gradually."

Nick looked at Warrick. "Oh, so you're back five minutes and now you're going to solve my case for me?" He laughed. "Well then get your gloves on and let's go!"

An hour later they had finished rummaging through the remains of both vehicles. Sandi Isom's Mustang was neat and clean, save for the contents of her purse scattered after the accident. "I've got her wallet here, cell phone, checkbook, and a heck of a lot of makeup," Nick called out from the car.

Sharon Prince's car, however, was a mess, full of toys, loose Cheerios, and empty juice boxes. "None of that here," Warrick responded as he sifted through the items. He crawled out of the car and let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't tell if this mess if from the wreck or just normal."

Nick laughed. "Probably normal." He then grew serious as he looking into the back seat of the Escort. "This isn't, though." He reached in and pulled out a strip of metal, one inch wide by two feet long, torn from the car's window frame. He bagged the blood covered item and looked at Warrick, shaking his head. "Car seat's still strapped in place. She would have been fine if…" He didn't finish. Instead, he stood up and asked Warrick, "So…paint transfer and damage doesn't really jive with what the lady said. No obvious sign of an animal at the scene either."

"Maybe the sun was in her eyes," Warrick offered. "I mean, you know how it is in the morning when it's just coming up. And her visor is down."

Nick looked puzzled. "Yeah, but so is Mrs. Prince's. They couldn't both be heading into the sun. Ms. Isom was going west…no need to have her visor down." Suddenly his cell phone buzzed, signaling a text message. He read it and rolled his eyes. "Typical Hodges. He can't just come down the hall and tell me he's got my results…has to make a big production out of it."

Warrick laughed and they both headed to the trace lab. Hodges was putting on his jacket as they entered the room.

"Oh, you're here." He sighed as though he was extremely bothered by that fact, took off his jacket, and said, "I've got three hours overtime from staying late this morning, I need sleep, and I happen to have a date this afternoon, but let me stop everything and dig those results out for you, Nick."

Nick eyed Warrick and bit his lip to stop the grin that was forming. "I appreciate that, Hodges."

Hodges pulled out an envelope and handed it to Nick. "Cyclopentasiloxane, paraffin, diisostearyl, PEG 6 beeswax, and a host of other things, but it boils down to this: eyeliner. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

* * *

The halls of the hospital buzzed with activity as Nick and Brass walked toward room 908. "Ms. Isom?" Jim asked as he knocked on the door frame before entering the room.

Sandi Isom lay propped up in the bed, her face ragged with stitches, her left eye covered with bandages and her right arm in a cast.

Jim introduced himself and Nick, then told her they were there to discuss the accident.

The woman sniffed back tears as she gazed at the men. "Damn cat," she uttered through her stitched and swollen lips. "Look at me! My face is ruined!" She began to weep softly.

"Um, yeah…" Nick began, "…about that 'cat' Ms. Isom. We found no evidence of an animal at the scene. What we DID find, however, is that you didn't crash into the Prince's car like you said. You veered over into it. And I suspect that's because you had your visor down, looking in the mirror, putting on your makeup while you drove."

"That's ridiculous!" she scoffed.

"No, it's not," he replied, trying to contain his growing anger. "That's how you broke your arm, isn't it? The airbag deployed and your arm was in front of your face, applying that eye liner that was found embedded in your eye."

"So what?" she sneered. "You're here to arrest me? So I hit a car…so what? I lost my eye!"

"Sharon Prince lost her daughter," Nick replied evenly. "Kayla Prince died two hours ago. Because you had to pretty yourself up while driving a car."

Tammy looked away. "Isn't this enough? I'm scarred for life. I'm blind, for Christ's sake!"

Nick huffed and shook his head in disbelief as he turned to leave the room. "Yeah. Ain't karma a bitch?"

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**This is the first time I've tried to write a case story, and with the word limit it was definitely a challenge! Please let a review if you're so inclined. :-)**


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